Search Result for "recreant": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. an abject coward;
[syn: poltroon, craven, recreant]

2. a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.;
[syn: deserter, apostate, renegade, turncoat, recreant, ratter]


ADJECTIVE (2)

1. having deserted a cause or principle;
- Example: "some provinces had proved recreant"
- Example: "renegade supporters of the usurper"
[syn: recreant, renegade]

2. lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful;
- Example: "the craven fellow turned and ran"
- Example: "a craven proposal to raise the white flag"
- Example: "this recreant knight"- Spenser
[syn: craven, recreant]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Recreant \Rec"re*ant\ (-ant), a. [OF., cowardly, fr. recroire, recreire, to forsake, leave, tire, discourage, regard as conquered, LL. recredere se to declare one's self conquered in combat; hence, those are called recrediti or recreanti who are considered infamous; L. pref. re- again, back + credere to believe, to be of opinion; hence, originally, to disavow one's opinion. See Creed.] 1. Crying for mercy, as a combatant in the trial by battle; yielding; cowardly; mean-spirited; craven. "This recreant knight." --Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. Apostate; false; unfaithful. [1913 Webster] Who, for so many benefits received, Turned recreant to God, ingrate and false. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Recreant \Rec"re*ant\, n. One who yields in combat, and begs for mercy; a mean-spirited, cowardly wretch. --Blackstone. [1913 Webster] You are all recreants and dastards! --Shak. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

recreant adj 1: having deserted a cause or principle; "some provinces had proved recreant"; "renegade supporters of the usurper" [syn: recreant, renegade] 2: lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful; "the craven fellow turned and ran"; "a craven proposal to raise the white flag"; "this recreant knight"- Spenser [syn: craven, recreant] n 1: an abject coward [syn: poltroon, craven, recreant] 2: a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. [syn: deserter, apostate, renegade, turncoat, recreant, ratter]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

110 Moby Thesaurus words for "recreant": Sabbath-breaker, apostate, arrant coward, atheist, atheistic, backslider, backsliding, bad egg, bad lot, base, black sheep, blackguardly, blasphemer, blasphemous, bolter, caitiff, collaborationist, collaborative, collaborator, convert, craven, dastard, dastardly, defector, degenerate, degraded, derelict, deserter, disaffected, disloyal, dunghill, dunghilly, faithless, fallen, fallen angel, fallen from grace, false, fickle, fifth columnist, impious, inconstant, infamous, irreligious, irreverent, knavish, lapsed, lecher, lost sheep, lost soul, miscreant, mugwump, not true to, notorious, of bad faith, perfidious, pervert, pimp, poltroon, poltroonish, profanatory, profane, profligate, proselyte, pusillanimous, quisling, rascally, rat, recidivist, recidivistic, renegade, renegado, renegate, reprobate, reversionist, roguish, runagate, sacrilegious, sacrilegist, scampish, scapegrace, schismatic, scoundrelly, seceder, secessionist, separatist, sneak, sorry lot, strikebreaker, tergiversant, tergiversating, tergiversator, traitor, traitorous, treacherous, treasonable, treasonous, trollop, trothless, turnabout, turncoat, turntail, unbeliever, undutiful, unfaithful, unloyal, unsteadfast, untrue, vile, villainous, whore
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

RECREANT. A Coward; a poltroon. 3 Bl. Com. 340.